For political candidates seeking office in this region, the mantra is the same: “Jobs. Jobs. Jobs. We have to bring more jobs to the area.”

Every candidate running for nearly any office — local, state, or federal — seems to say that. It’s a good sentiment, and certainly one that plays well on the surface. In fact, we agree, the top, or certainly one of the top, priorities of any commissioner, General Assembly representative, or Congressional representative, should be to get the economy righted. And fostering a climate which can create new jobs is certainly one of the key ways to do this.

However, candidates in the last election, and the one before that, and we suspect in quite a few over the years, have said the same thing.

The November election is more than half a year away, but the primaries which will, in larger part, determine who we get to vote for in November, are just down the road in May. So we ask all of those seeking office this question — how do you plan to pursue new jobs? What specific plans do you have in mind to foster economic growth, to bring new companies to the area or help those already here expand?

Telling everyone you want to bring new jobs is a little like telling everyone you like mom, baseball, and apple pie. Who doesn’t?

What the people of this community and this state deserve are candidates who are serious about public service, not so much focused on holding a particular office. And those seeking positions of public service, wanting to be elected to leadership positions, should do more than give simple campaign slogans.

Tell us exactly what you plan to do to bring those jobs to the area. Tell prospective voters specifically what you are going to do, and how.

We suspect going through such an exercise will leave each of you better prepared if you are elected to office, and it certainly will give voters a better understanding of what to expect from each candidate.